--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Missionarying was a better thing in those…" description: "\"Missionarying was a better thing in those days than it is in ours. All you had to do was to cure the head savage´s sick daughter by a miracle- a miracl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/mark-twain-22_children_missionarying-was-a-better-thing-in-thos_275146.jpg" --- # Missionarying was a better thing in those days than it is… ![“Missionarying was a better thing in those days than it is in ours. All you had to do was to cure the head savage´s sick daughter by a miracle- a miracle like the miracle of Lourdes in our day, for instance- and immediately that head savage was your convert, and filled to the eyes with a new…” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/mark-twain-22_children_missionarying-was-a-better-thing-in-thos_275146.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/mark-twain-22_children_missionarying-was-a-better-thing-in-thos_275146.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/mark-twain-22_children_missionarying-was-a-better-thing-in-thos_275146.jpg) > “Missionarying was a better thing in those days than it is in ours. All you had to do was to cure the head savage´s sick daughter by a miracle- a miracle like the miracle of Lourdes in our day, for instance- and immediately that head savage was your convert, and filled to the eyes with a new convert´s enthusiasm. You could sit down and make yourself easy now. He would take the ax and convert the rest of the nation himself.” [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Missionary work was once seen as a simple, miraculous solution to cultural conversion, but now it is more complex and problematic. **In simple terms:** Missionary work used to be seen as easy and miraculous. Key Takeaway Recognize the complexities of cultural exchange. Themes colonialism religion culture missionary work ethics Mood reflective critical Type historical ethical When to use this quote - historical analysis - modern missionary work - ethical debates - cultural sensitivity Key Concepts conversion miracle cultural imperialism Questions to Reflect On - How do we respect cultures while sharing beliefs? - What responsibilities do missionaries have today? A Different Perspective Simplifies deep cultural interactions to miracles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Daughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daughter/) [Enthusiasm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enthusiasm/) [Lourdes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lourdes/) [Miracle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miracle/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Savages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/savages/) ## Related quotes > [I believe in the curative powers of love as the English believe in tea or Catholics believe in the Miracle of Lourdes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-johnson/i-believe-in-the-curative-powers-of-love-as-the-english-believe-in/) [Joyce Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-johnson/) > [A convert's enthusiasm for his new religion is greater than that of a person who is born in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-convert-s-enthusiasm-for-his-new-religion-is-greater-than-that-of-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [How can I convert the enthusiasm of voters into a practical programme of action that meets their desire for economic security and greater prosperity?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-ponta/how-can-i-convert-the-enthusiasm-of-voters-into-a-practical-programme/) [Victor Ponta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-ponta/) > [I have this terrific make-up man. But he's expensive. I have to bring him in from Lourdes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/i-have-this-terrific-make-up-man-but-he-s-expensive-i-have-to-bring/) [Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) > [The road to Lourdes is littered with crutches, but not one wooden leg.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/the-road-to-lourdes-is-littered-with-crutches-but-not-one-wooden-leg/) [Emile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [We want to create a sort of linguistic Lourdes, where evil and misfortune are dispelled by a dip in the waters of euphemism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hughes/we-want-to-create-a-sort-of-linguistic-lourdes-where-evil-and/) [Robert Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hughes/) > [I am not lucky. I am the type who would go to Lourdes and drown in the waters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-am-not-lucky-i-am-the-type-who-would-go-to-lourdes-and-drown-in-the/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [You are the love you seek. You are the companionship you desire. You are your own completion, your own wholeness. You are your best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/you-are-the-love-you-seek-you-are-the-companionship-you-desire-you/) [Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/) > [ I'm giving \[my analyst\] one more year--then I'm going to Lourdes. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/i-m-giving-my-analyst-one-more-year-then-i-m-going-to-lourdes/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [Probably the first time I left Italy was to travel by train to Lourdes. I went with my mother and my grandmother - who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-bocelli/probably-the-first-time-i-left-italy-was-to-travel-by-train-to/) [Andrea Bocelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-bocelli/) > [I'm going to my psychoanalyst one more year, then I'm going to Lourdes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/i-m-going-to-my-psychoanalyst-one-more-year-then-i-m-going-to-lourdes/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [I find many drawbacks of myself. But, each time when I visit Lourdes, I receive a lesson of reconciliation. When you see ill people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mireille-mathieu/i-find-many-drawbacks-of-myself-but-each-time-when-i-visit-lourdes-i/) [Mireille Mathieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mireille-mathieu/) > [Never trust a baserunner with a limp. Comes a base hit and you'll think he just got back from Lourdes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-garagiola/never-trust-a-baserunner-with-a-limp-comes-a-base-hit-and-you-ll/) [Joe Garagiola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-garagiola/) > [It seems that, after nineteen centuries of extraordinary glorification, the small Host for which so many cathedrals have sprung up, the small Host that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-mauriac/it-seems-that-after-nineteen-centuries-of-extraordinary-glorification/) [Francois Mauriac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-mauriac/) > [I do not think our successes can compete with those of Lourdes. There are so many more people who believe in the miracles of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/i-do-not-think-our-successes-can-compete-with-those-of-lourdes-there/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) ## More by Mark Twain > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. 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Nothing is above its reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-training-can-t-cannot-do-nothing-is-above-its-reach/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. Man gets his through months and months of cruel torture; he will never get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-higher-animals-get-their-teeth-without-pain-or-inconvenience-man/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“As far as I can see, Italy, for fifteen hundred years, has turned all her energies, all her finances, and all her industry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/as-far-as-i-can-see-italy-for-fifteen-hundred-years-has-turned-all/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Begin with the determination to succeed and the work is half done already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/begin-with-the-determination-to-succeed-and-the-work-is-half-done/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Many public-school children seem to know only two dates—1492 and 4th of July; and as a rule they don't know what happened on either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/many-public-school-children-seem-to-know-only-two-dates-1492-and-4th/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If we could imagine such a man, that is a man who could invent the fly and send him out on his mission and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-we-could-imagine-such-a-man-that-is-a-man-who-could-invent-the-fly/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [You perceive, now, that these things are all impossible except in a dream. You perceive that they are pure and puerile insanities, the silly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-perceive-now-that-these-things-are-all-impossible-except-in-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Lord save us all from a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/lord-save-us-all-from-a-hope-tree-that-has-lost-the-faculty-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Explore all 3,277 Mark Twain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. 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Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. 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